Notre Dame primps for its grand post-blaze return. But why does the cathedral look unfinished?

PARIS (AP) — The bells of Notre Dame are chiming again, but scaffolding still clinging to the cathedral's exterior is puzzling some Parisians, who question whether its grand post-blaze reopening is more symbolic than substantive.

When French President Emmanuel Macron inspects the rebuilding work on Friday, in his final tour of the construction site, he'll see the renovated interiors with his own eyes. But he also won't be able to miss the construction work and cranes that clutter the exterior of the nearly 900-year-old monument.

The day after the April 2019 blaze that destroyed the spire and roof, Macron pledged that “we will rebuild the cathedral to be even more beautiful, and I want it to be completed within five years."

The reality has proven more complex.

While the interior will be ready to host visitors and the faithful on Dec. 8 for the first time since 2019, scaffolding at the base of the newly-restored spire will remain into 2025 and for another three years on the monument’s east side, Philippe Jost, who is masterminding the reconstruction, told The Associated Press this month.

The blaze and rebuilding that turned the cathedral into a no-go zone for the public left a literal hole in the heart of Paris, and many locals are longing for it to be filled by the reopening.

Some, however, had been expecting the monument to look as pristine on the outside as officials say it does once again on the inside. Around 140 million euros (around $150 million) of unspent funds remain in the reconstruction budget -- an indication of the scale of work that remains to be completed. Cranes and makeshift worker facilities — showers, changing rooms and alike — still feature. And while a lot of scaffolding has been removed, tons of it remain.

“It's an eyesore,” said Anne Leclerc, 54, a lawyer. "It feels like a half-finished project.”

Jean-Baptiste Lefèvre, a retired 65-year-old teacher, recalled Macron's five-year completion wish, and questioned whether the reopening is being rushed prematurely to please him. Macron’s second and last term ends in 2027.

“It's politics, and he wants it to be finished while he’s still president,” Lefèvre suggested.

“What’s the point of such a big reopening when it’s not even finished?” Lefèvre said, gesturing toward a crane. "It looks like a construction zone.”

In truth, Notre Dame has been a building site for years — even before the fire. Scaffolding was already in place in 2019 for a previous restoration effort that wasn't completed because of the April 15 blaze. That structure of melted, twisted metal then had to be cut away before rebuilding could even begin.

Some of the worst damage was to the medieval monument’s roof and its dense latticework of wooden beams, so complicated that it was nicknamed “the forest.” The flames also brought down the spire, sending charred debris into the cathedral's interior.

Architecture experts say the pace of restoration has been remarkable, particularly given the constraints of 21st-century safety regulations and the need for historical accuracy.

Historians also urge patience, reminding critics that Notre Dame’s original construction spanned nearly 200 years, beginning in 1163.

“Notre Dame’s reconstruction is a sign of hope for everyone,” Rev. Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, the cathedral rector, has said.

Initial hopes for a full restoration by 2024 dimmed after the COVID-19 pandemic slowed work. The late General Jean-Louis Georgelin, the former reconstruction chief, tempered expectations in 2023, saying the reopening would be “partial.”

Macron's office frames the restoration as a triumph for French can-do, likening it to other national milestones such as the Paris Olympics.

His tour of the monument on Friday will be his seventh since the fire.

Presidential officials say he'll see gleaming white finishes of restored stonework, vaults rebuilt with precision to their original 13th-century design, and the once-again radiant golden cross at the altar.

Murals, including those in the Saint-Marcel Chapel, are as vibrantly colorful again as when first painted and sculptures of Louis XIII and XIV glisten with refreshed colors, they say.

After a Dec. 7 ceremony where Macron will give a speech on the cathedral forecourt, an inaugural mass the next day will signal its return to public life.

The public will be welcomed until 10 p.m. during the first week, with free, ticketed entry. Liturgical life then resume in full from Dec. 16.

The Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, expects Notre Dame will quickly surpass its pre-blaze visitor numbers. He is bracing for 15 million visitors annually -- seemingly confident that for most, the work that’s unfinished won’t be a cardinal disappointment.

Cranes are seen by Notre-Dame cathedral, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Cranes and workers' facilities are seen behind Notre-Dame cathedral, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

People stroll by book sellers in front of Notre-Dame cathedral, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

A painting showing Notre-Dame cathedral is seen along the Seine river bank, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Tourists watch Notre-Dame cathedral from behind a security perimeter, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

People walk by a security perimeter next to Notre-Dame cathedral, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Scaffolding is still clinging to Notre-Dame cathedral, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

A workers walks on scaffolding at Notre-Dame cathedral, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Cranes and workers' facilities are seen along Notre-Dame cathedral, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Scaffolding is still clinging to Notre-Dame cathedral, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani police have levelled multiple charges against imprisoned former premier Imran Khan, his wife and others for inciting people to violence, officials said Thursday, following days of protests and clashes in which at least six people were killed and scores more were injured.

Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi led thousands of people from the country's northwest to march on the capital Islamabad to demand the release of Khan, who has been behind bars since August 2023. Khan already has more than 150 cases against him but supporters say they are politically motivated.

Bibi, a spiritual healer, fled when police launched a midnight raid Tuesday to disperse thousands of demonstrators. She was out of prison on bail in a graft case when she led the protest from northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Authorities said police arrested nearly 1,000 demonstrators since Sunday in and around Islamabad.

At least six people, including four security personnel, were killed when a vehicle rammed into them, according to Islamabad police which has blamed Khan supporters for the deaths.

Police issued charges against Khan, Bibi and others in Islamabad and the city of Rawalpindi under Pakistan's anti-terrorism laws. Authorities accuse them of inciting people to attack security forces and disrupting the peace.

Khan faces more than 150 cases against him but his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI, says it will continue to push for his release.

On Thursday, Planning and Development Minster Ahsan Iqbal and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told international media that Khan supporters "wanted to take over the capital” and that some of them were carrying weapons. These were seized when the midnight raid was under way, they said.

Iqbal said security forces used tear gas and batons to disperse crowds. He dismissed the PTI's claim that some Khan supporters died from police firing live bullets. He added that it was not a peaceful rally because the protesters used guns.

The rally came after 42 Shiites were killed in the northwestern Kurram district earlier this month when gunmen opened fire on convoys of buses and cars. Retaliatory attacks in Kurram also left dozens more people dead.

Also on Thursday, eight people were killed in new sectarian clashes in Kurram, local police official Salim Shah said.

Meanwhile, Islamabad police filed terrorism charges against a journalist, Matiullah Jan, on Thursday after his family said he was abducted by unknown men. Police say Jan, who is now in police custody, refused to stop at a checkpoint and he had snatched a gun from an officer. Police also alleged that Jan was “drunk” when arrested, a charge he denied.

It's the latest turmoil to rock the country since Khan's ouster in 2022.

Pakistan’s Stock Exchange lost more than $1.7 billion on Tuesday due to the political tension, but it recovered from on Thursday by surpassing 100,000 points for the first time. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the rebound was a sign of an improving economy.

Associated Press writers Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

Bushra Bibi, center, wife of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan and leaders of Khan's party lead their supporters during a rally demanding Khan's release, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/W.K. Yousufzai)